2022 Recap

Hey everyone, it’s been a while since our last update (last update was the beginning of this year, wow…) so we would like to catch you all up on what gigs we have done this past year as it has been an eventful one compared to last year. With restrictions being more relaxed we were able to do a lot of gigs this year and this post will get you up to speed of what’s been going on this year. There’s a lot to go over so let’s get started!

Blacktown show is an event that we always look forward to as it is usually one of the very first gigs to start of the year, however this year we were unfortunately unable to get a full band due to some complications. Despite this the band was able to pull through and perform some great tunes for the venue, starting off strong with a band favourite, “Treasure” by Bruno Mars and ending off the set with Michael Jackson’s “Blame it on the Boogie”. Circumstances surrounding  the band aside, the event was a great way to start the year and helped the band get back into the groove of performing after the pandemic during the latter half of the previous year.

Seven Hills Festival is an event that has quite unfortunate luck with last year being canceled due to a combination of weather issues and the pandemic, and this year looking to be the same due to heavy rainstorms leading up towards the day of the event. However this year organizers were determined to get the show on the road, moving the entire event to the first floor of the Seven Hills Station car park. This was quite an interesting experience for the band as performing within an indoor car park is quite an uncommon venue, especially for a festival setting. Needless to say we were impressed with the set up and had to bring our ‘A game’ despite the weather. We performed a similar set to Blacktown Show with a new song being added to the mix, a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. 

2 months later our next gig for the year was Flores De Mayo, an event that we were first invited to last year and that we are grateful to be reinvited to this year. As a reminder this was a procession for the Month of Mary so the tone of this event was quite different then the event previous with a more solemn mood being set. This involved the band playing traditional pieces such as “Gentle Woman” and “Ave Maria”. After the procession however we were invited to play more upbeat tunes for the festivities after which involved a more stripped down version of our stage songs. With the absence of a drum and bass guitar a Cajon and Tuba were used as a replacement giving songs, like our “Earth Wind and Fire Dance Mix”, a more laid back feel.

Our next two gigs were the Riverstone Parade and Blacktown Streets Alive festival, two events that we always look forward to every year as it gives us the chance to bring out our marching music and fancy uniforms. However during this time of the year there were heavy rainstorms leading up prior to the events which soured our expectations on what was to come. Luckily however this did not affect these events in a significant way and the band was able to march in the streets once again. The band performed traditional marching tunes as well as a cover of another Jackson family song, “Want You Back” by the Jackson 5. This year we were also awarded with the “Best in Parade” award during the Riverstone Parade, winning ourselves a personal river stone as a trophy. Blacktown Streets Alive also had us perform up on stage and march in the streets back to back keeping us on our toes for the whole day. For these 2 events we would also like to thank our friends and family who volunteered to help us on drums and flag bearing as we couldn’t have done these events without you!

A new event that we were invited to play this year was [idk the name of this thing]. As it was a gathering of majority filipinos we decided to play traditional filipino folk songs in order to get the audience excited. Dressed in our fancy marching uniforms we decided to play “Leron Leron Sinta”, “Doon Po Sa Amin” and an “Ilocano Medley’ which had the crowd pleased. Thanks to this event we were also able to be invited to 2 more events, the “Feast of our Lady PenaFrancia” and the first “Kings Langley Village Festival”. 

The Feast of our Lady PenaFrancia is a celebration that occurs on the third Saturday of September and is in dedication to an image of the Blessed Mother Mary in the Philippines, adorned in a gold dress and flowers. The image is the patroness of the Bicol Region and as such during the feast day a procession is held in which the Image travels across the Naga River returning to its Cathedral. In our case this involved a rosary procession along the Nepean River in Penrith with the band playing the same songs as they did during Flores De Mayo in May. 

It seems quite common for the band to switch moods back to back as the following gig was the very first “Kings Langley Village Fair” in which the band brought a more upbeat tone to in order to celebrate the event performing an upbeat stage set mixing in a little bit of traditional filipino with the inclusion of “Leron Leron Sinta” in the mix. After this event a few members were invited to take a couple of pictures in front of several streets within Seven Hills named after famous composers for the local paper, quite an honor for us.

The next event took us all the way to the city in celebration of Christmas! The event was a filipino celebration of christmas in darling harbor so the band once again pulled out their fancy marching uniforms in order to prepare a mixed selection of filipino folk, marching and classic christmas songs. Despite the weather looking quite cloudy the event went off without a hitch with the band performing a marching set from darling harbor to Tumbalong park and performing on stage a christmas set finishing with “Ang Pasko” a classic filipino christmas song.

A surprise for 2 band members last year was an offer to play the Blacktown hospital and Mt Druitt hospital for a remembrance day ceremony. Band members Alfredo and Geli were invited to play the last post and the rouse at these 2 events for the first time, an opportunity that they were grateful for.

The final gig of last year was the Woodcroft Christmas festival which was actually held at Woodcroft oval due to the weather conditions leading up to the event. As always the band had set up a stall selling various food items including pancit, skewers and fish balls in order to fundraise for band expenses. The band would like to thank those who volunteered to help run the stall throughout the day as this couldn’t have been done without their help. As for the performance the band was the last act of the day and wrapped up the event with a mix of christmas songs including a cover of This Christmas by Christina Aguilera and a set of pop songs including 2 new songs, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” by Shania Twain and “Shalala Lala” by the Vengaboys.

And that’s it! A recap of last year. Last year turned out to be very eventful especially compared to the year preceding that being filled with a lockdown towards the middle of the year. It was nice to get back into the swing of things last year and hopefully we carry that energy into this year. Sorry for the lack of posts last year. This year we’ll keep on top of things so don’t forget to check back here for new posts and updates on our latest gigs!

WOODCROFT – CAROLS BY THE LAKE 2021

The Woodcroft: Carols by the Lake event was the last event of the year and was an event that required a large amount of prep work from the band due to 2 major factors. Firstly this would be our longest gig out of isolation requiring us to perform once during the day and once during the night for the main Christmas event. Secondly, at this event, we were going to manage a food stand to raise funds for the band’s future.

This wasn’t the first time the band had run a food stall for an event, however, it had been at least 3 years since the last one. Due to this a whole month of prep work was required from planning the layout of the stall, deciding what food was going to be sold, testing the food, and finally buying all the necessary items. The month had quickly passed by and the band was thankfully able to complete all the necessary preparations in time with extra work being put in by Geli, Sophia, and Raelene who all deserve praise due to the extra work they put in throughout the entire preparation period.

On the day the band had called on a few extra people to help run the stall smoother who we would also like to thank. Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we were able to sell all of our food items leading to the band breaking even and turning over a profit.

Special thanks to Naomi and Rachelle!!!!!

On the gig side of things, the first performance was a solo vocal rendition of the Australian National Anthem to start the entire day of festivities. Shortly after was the band’s first stage performance, a 30 minute set with the band’s classic jazz and pop tunes being performed such as “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Treasure”, “Man in the Mirror”, and more. Later on, towards the afternoon was a short impromptu singing set by Geli performing a short set of acoustic pop songs to keep up high moods of the festival before the day of festivities had ended and moved on to the carols by the lake event. The band performed a 30-minute set reminiscent of November’s Christmas gigs, as a lead-up to the main carols event, ending their set with a mashup of Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe”, Drummer Boy and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me”. Finally, the event ended with 30 minutes of carols with Geli and Sophia helping out “Living Bread Ministries” to close the day.

Despite the circumstances, the past 3 Christmas gigs have gone quite well for the band and hopefully, the band will continue to grow and recover from the lockdown and be able to bring the community a great set of performances throughout the next year.

Thanks for an amazing year everybody !!! 🤍🤍

2021 BLACKTOWN CITY CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS

OUT OF LOCKDOWN AND MISSING PLAYERS

The past few years have impacted the band in a very strange way. Due to the pandemic, many members are unable to play for certain gigs due to their lifestyle and occupation. Which left us thinking on our feet for the best solution and band arrangements to ensure we were still playing to our standard. Lucky for us the majority of the members in the band are multi-skilled allowing people to rotate to other instruments when required. 

This however required us to practice A LOT as a band and individually as the long months of lockdown had rusted our skills.


BLACKTOWN CITY CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS

After a long break due to COVID-19, the band was invited to 3 gigs within the Blacktown city area to perform a 30 – 40 minute set of light-hearted Christmas songs ending the year strong and full of joy. The band was delighted to be invited and had a great time performing at these events especially after another break due to the pandemic.

The first gig was at the Mount Druitt Christmas Concert, which welcomed the community to the spirit of Christmas through the annual concert at the Dawson Mall, Mount Druitt. This event provided local residents with free stage performances by local community groups from diverse communities such as dance troupe and bands such as ourselves!! We performed with a limited number of band members (eight to be exact) due to Jeffrey and Katrina being preoccupied with their work schedules. We performed a 30 min set of Jazzy Christmas classics before the Christmas tree was finally lit up by Santa Claus.


The next Christmas concert we were invited to perform at was at Riverstone. This was an inaugural event and the band was honoured to be invited to perform a classic set of jazzy Christmas songs to set a joyful mood for the whole event. The event was held at the Riverstone Neighbourhood Centre, a small cozy venue hosting a couple of food stalls and a charming Christmas tree. Despite missing one member due to work, the band was able to play a 30 min set similar to the one played at the previous Mount Druitt Christmas Concert setting a relaxed mood for the festival. Once again the festival ended with the lighting of the Christmas tree and Santa making an appearance to take a few photos.


The last Christmas Festival the Blacktown City council invited us to perform at was… Blacktown, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the rainy weather.

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MAY 2021 GIGS RECAP

A post to catch up on forgotten gigs/posts before lockdown took us by storm. 

FLORES DE MAYO

For those who don’t know what Flores de Mayo is, it is a Filipino festival celebrated in May. It is a celebration that lasts a month-long and is designated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

As a result, our performance during the festival consisted of hymns and songs centred around Mary and her grace. Additionally, we were able to perform our usual jazzy set after the festival had ended. 

The performances were held at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church Rosemeadow and John Therry Catholic College. 


BLACKTOWN PARKFEST

Unlike previous years Blacktown’s City Festival event “Streets Alive” has been revamped for this year (2021) having a brand new name and location. Blacktown Parkfest was located at the Blacktown International Sportspark and had several performances, market stalls, and free rides to entertain those of all ages. 

And luckily for us, we were able to perform for this event twice. Our first performance was on Stage 3 and at 10 am we performed our usual set of jazz, rock, and pop. After an amazing performance, we had a bit of time before the march which allowed us to explore the place. 

As the parade was about to get started, we got ourselves into our marching uniforms and we fell into our position for the parade. Everything went smoothly and it was an amazing event. We ended up wandering around as the stalls and environment were so captivating.

If you ever get the chance, don’t miss out on the next Blacktown Parkfest! 


RIVERSTONE FESTIVAL

We were so excited to hear that we were invited to perform at this year’s (2021) annual Riverstone Festival! Similar to Blacktown Parkfest we performed in the street parade which commenced at 11 am. It was amazing to see the community get together after a long battle with the pandemic. 

NAB RunWest 2021

This year we were lucky enough to get invited to RunWest as on course entertainment for the runners to enjoy. RunWest is a community fun run event hosted by NAB that has participants running a 12km course starting from Sydney Motorsports Park, going through Sydney Zoo and ending at the event headquarters. As this was the first time the band had been invited to the event we were very eager to perform and provide our support to the runners.

With a very early meet up time of 5:00 am the band was ready to go performing on the corner of Huntingwood drive playing a set of jazz, pop and rock songs for the first runners arriving at around 6:45am. The band provided a constant flow of upbeat tunes bringing an upbeat atmosphere for the runners up until the final wave of participants ending at 8:15:am.

Despite the early meet up time the band thoroughly enjoyed performing for RunWest and would like to thank the organizers of the event for reaching out to us and giving us the opportunity to perform. The band would also like to congratulate all the runners for their fantastic work on the course and give thanks to all those who showed us their support whilst on course. We hope to see you guys next year!

Quirindi Military Tattoo 2021

After the performance last year, the band was once again invited back to the Quirindi Military Tattoo as the first performance of the year. After the positive reception from the community last year and the band’s enjoyment of the event, we happily accepted the chance to perform once again. During the 3 day trip the band had spent their free time touring the town, local markets and visiting “Bob’s Shed” – a place filled with a collection of many antiques. 

This year the band was given the opportunity to perform within the market area bringing a 75 minute set of jazz, latin, rock and pop numbers providing a lively atmosphere for the event. 

The band would like to thank the Blacktown City Council and the Liverpool Plains Shire Council for funding the transportation and accommodation for the event as well as providing another opportunity to perform at Quirindi. The band would also like to thank the folks at the “Quirindi Sunflower Motor Inn” and “Wilgabah Art Shack Gallery” for their hospitality whilst the band was lodging at their facilities. Finally we would like to thank the community Quirindi for allowing us to perform again at the event, as it is the first performance of the year and we felt like we started off strong, and would like to thank you for the support.

Blacktown Christmas Concert

The last gig of the year and one of the first gigs of the year after COVID 19 restrictions were alleviated. We performed another Christmas Concert at Blacktown a week after the Mount Druitt Christmas Concert. At this gig we performed a longer set reaching around 35 minutes, which consisted of Jazzy classic Christmas tunes as well as some iconic pop Christmas songs to get the crowd in the spirit of Christmas.

Mount Druitt Christmas Concert

After a long break due to COVID-19 the band was invited to 2 gigs within the Blacktown city area to perform a 25 – 35 minute set of light hearted Christmas songs ending the year strong and full of joy. The band was delighted to be invited and had a great time performing at these events especially after a 6 month break due to the pandemic.

The first gig was at the Mount Druitt Christmas Concert, which welcomed the community to the spirit of Christmas through the annual concert at the Dawson Mall, Mount Druitt. This event provided local residents with free stage performances by local community groups from diverse communities such as dance troupe and bands such as ourselves!! We performed with a limited number of band members as the COVID 19 restrictions limited us to 9 performers on the stage. We performed a set of Jazzy Christmas classics before the Christmas tree was finally lit up by Santa Clause at 8:45pm

Blacktown City Show

There were no breaks after the Quirindi gig as the next week the band had to perform at the “Blacktown City Show”, performing a new set of songs including a cover of “I Want You back” and “The Best” at this 30 minute gig. Despite the circumstances surrounding this event, such as the rise of the pandemic and the rainy weather, the band put on a great performance that was enjoyed by the community present at the festival.

Quirindi Military Tattoo 2020

Due to the performance at the previous years “Blacktown City Show”, the band was invited this year to an event at the sister city of Blacktown, Quirindi to perform at a military tattoo event. This was exciting for the band as this was one the first times that we had been invited for the event and after a year of preparation the band was ready to bring their A game to Quirindi. Transportation to the event was provided to the band by the Blacktown City Council, whom the band would like to thank for funding the transportation and accommodation for the event. After the 4 hour bus ride the band was provided accommodation at the “Wilgabah Art Shack Gallery” whom we would also like to thank for their hospitality to us during the 3 day trip. The band had performed a 30-40 minute set of their best jazz and pop songs including “Treasure” and “Blame it on the Boogie” which had been choreographed providing a vibrant atmosphere for the overall event. The band would like to thank both the Liverpool Plains Shire Council and Blacktown Council as well as the community at Quirindi for their hospitality and welcoming attitude as the band had thoroughly enjoyed their time at Quirindi and wishes to perform there again.